Suggestions and advice on a new computer build

[Deleted]

I need to buy components for a build using some of the old components from my old PC. I want to be able to play all games on the highest graphic settings as well as having a fast computer for rendering videos and generally fast speed. I want to be able to use blue-ray discs and USB 3.0.

Budget:
£1000

Resolution:
1920x1080

Games / Settings Desired:
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Saints row the Third
Star Craft 2
World of Warcraft
Guild Wars 2 when it comes out

Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc):
Video Recording and editing with Sony Vegas Pro 10 and Fraps
Adobe Design Premium which I use regularly

Country:
England, UK

Parts that can be reused:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti
Corsair CMX6GX3M3A1600C9 XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM Memory
Crucial CT128M4SSD2 128GB M4 SSD
standard HDD 400-500GB, can't remember the exact size.
525 Watt Power Supply
Intel Core i7
Already have monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
Windows 7

Really like the looks of this case and considering buying it:
aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/Full+Tower/AeroCool+X-Predator+White+Edition+Full+Tower+Windowed+Chassis+w%2F+USB3.0+?productId=48009

I'm open for suggestions on upgrades for the parts I already have.

---------- Post added 2012-03-03 at 10:04 PM ----------

For the motherboard, I've found this:
amazon.co.uk/Asus-P8Z68-DELUXE-GEN3-Motherboard/dp/B005T3TL4E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330811725&sr=8-2

Which looks very good to me as it has what I need but is this overkill?

I can't post links yet.

[Deleted]

From your post I'm not 100% sure exactly which parts you're looking for but this is what I would suggest (with a few comments).

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£143.25 @ Maplin Electronics)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£42.76 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (£379.99 @ Dabs)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case (£128.73 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Sony BD-5750H Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£65.39 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £760.12
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-04 00:29 GMT+0000)

The next step up from your 560ti,which by the way should still be fine, would be the 7950 that's why I put it in there. If you don't plan on upgrading it just remove it from the list, same with the rest of course.

Corsair 600T case in white is really good, if you need something cheaper I'd suggest the Corsair 400R or Fractal design Arc. With the motherboard you get USB 3.0 on the back and front headers for the case as well. SLI/CF ready and plenty of SATA III connections. Keep your CPU (not that we actually know which i7 model it is) and at least wait for IvyBridge to launch before deciding to upgrade or not.

[Deleted]

Thanks a lot, this has been very helpful and will definitely consider buying most of that.

Only have 2 questions:
1. Do you think the SLI and crossfire support with that motherboard are needed? Do you think I should buy another graphics card on top of the one I have?
2. What was the reason for recommending the case you linked over the one I found and linked? Was it just a personal appeal or is there a specific reason I should know?

---------- Post added 2012-03-04 at 12:55 AM ----------

Also I forgot to mention but its not a big issue. I have an SSD, do I need to buy a bracket for the case or does it come with one? If so can I buy any bracket or are they all different in size so I need to be careful when buying one?

---------- Post added 2012-03-04 at 12:57 AM ----------

And can I not use the RAM I already had? Will I loose performance if I used them as they are in pairs of 3?

[Deleted]

Sounds like your current RAM is tri-channel and the suggested motherboard is dual-channel that's why. As for the case suggestion(s), they're just all quality, solid build cases, great to work with, lots of cable management options, tool-less drive bays and you don't have to buy any brackets for your SSD. I honestly don't know the case you linked, I just know the one(s) I suggested are great builders cases.

If you want to use the front panel USB 3.0 port you'll need a motherboard with USB 3.0 front header which the extreme4 comes with. If you don't care about it and just wanna use the USB 3.0 on the back you can drop down to this:

MB: AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - £113

Only you know if you need SLI support, for the 113 you might as well.

[Deleted]

The power supply does not fit in the case. Never thought this could be an issue. No idea what power supply I should be looking for. I'm using the*Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case you*recommended*which is great.*

[Deleted]

Any major brand PSU will fit in this case and many other cases for that matter.

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£66.62 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £66.62
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-09 17:29 GMT+0000)

Again if you need CF/SLI support pick something slightly higher wattage like this:

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£86.98 @ Dabs)
Total: £86.98
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-03-09 17:34 GMT+0000)

[Deleted]

Thanks. While I was in town I brought a PSU however its 550 watts which should be fine as on the site it says my GTX 560 Ti only uses 170 watts. However it turns out I need a new CPU as the one I got in my old PC Motherboard was LGA 1155 which is fine so I looked for a new motherboard and was recommended AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 which also has a LGA 1155 socket; the problem is that the CPU size is much bigger in my old motherboard which does not make any sense what so ever to me. My friend thinks its because the new motherboard supports only generation 2 CPU and the other must be an older type however he is no computer expert either. So now I need a new CPU and not sure I want to take another risk and get the wrong size for the Extreme3 Gen3 board I have.

Thanks in advance!

---------- Post added 2012-03-09 at 07:18 PM ----------

My old PC used an i7 Core at 2.60GHz however I found this i5:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Sandyb...1320119&sr=8-1

Would I notice much difference? Would it affect my gaming performance anyway? Would this core work with my motherboard I mentioned?

---------- Post added 2012-03-09 at 07:26 PM ----------

If not then this is the i7 core I've been looking at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-3-4GHz...1321324&sr=8-5

Hopefully that also fits my AsRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard.

[Deleted]

Yes i5-2500k is great and unless you do heavy video/graphic editing, multitasking etc. it's really all you need. It even benches better in some games compared to the i7-2600k. It will fit the mentioned motherboard. I did tell you we had no idea which i7 chip you have so that could effect the motherboard recommendation.

Do keep in mind that new Intel IvyBridge CPU will be released in a month or two if you can wait. If not 2500k is your best bet.

[Jakexe]

The main issue is the PSU, up at to least a 650W. The HDD is also way to small these days, keep the SSD as a OP dedicated and look at 1TB or so HDD.

---------- Post added 2012-03-10 at 05:54 PM ----------

Do keep in mind that new Intel IvyBridge CPU will be released in a month or two if you can wait. If not 2500k is your best bet.

The ivy bridge is meant to be really soft for any serious gamer upgrade, it blasts away sandy in gpx performance but I've yet to see details on any huge improvement bar that.

[Deleted]

I can not wait for the cpu. I want my PC built and don't want to wait 1 or 2 months with no PC till the new CPU arrives. Also I went to get a more powerful PSU but most people advice me that 550 Watts is more than enough for my needs and my components. I've used that HDD for a long time and never used it all up so I think buying a new one which has 1TB would be a waste.

---------- Post added 2012-03-10 at 06:58 PM ----------

If my PSU is too small in power then could it cause serious damage or would my PC just freeze or something similar?

[Deleted]

The main issue is the PSU, up at to least a 650W. The HDD is also way to small these days, keep the SSD as a OP dedicated and look at 1TB or so HDD.

---------- Post added 2012-03-10 at 05:54 PM ----------



The ivy bridge is meant to be really soft for any serious gamer upgrade, it blasts away sandy in gpx performance but I've yet to see details on any huge improvement bar that.

10-15% and few other improvements. Also why would you not buy IvyBridge when it's launched if you're upgrading in the first place. Makes no sense buying old genration stuff if it's priced similar and with better performance. if you noticed I recommended waiting IF he was going to upgrade.

If my PSU is too small in power then could it cause serious damage or would my PC just freeze or something similar?

None of the PSU I recommended is too little power. we have no idea which PSU you have currently so no idea if it's actually enough power or any real quality. All I know is you mentioned it not fitting in the case.

[Deleted]

Hello Notarget i couldnt send u private message idk why so i will post it here....

I saw the forum post where you helped a guy for his PC components (I think he was in UK).I saw u mentioned the new Intel CPU generation Ivy Bridge.I wanted to buy the i5-2500k ,but if the new Ivy bridge CPU's are better and in the same price shoud i buy the Ivy CPU.I CAN wait that 1-2 months.So it will be really helpful if tell me more about that Ivy thingy....i will also gonna get the HD6950 2gb or GTX 560 ti 2gb.Which will perform better in Battlefield 3 on ultra and other games ofc and why....Thanks !

[Deleted]

I got your message and replied.

[Deleted]

Hi, before I finalize everything I wanted to make sure these components I've chosen will work well together. What do you guys think?:

Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Unlocked Processor - Retail
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
PSU: Antec 25 VP550P 550 Watts
Graphics Card: Asus Nvidia GTX 560 TI
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Slightly worried about whether that PSU will be good enough with only 550 watts. I hope that will be enough. I got it from a local store and the man said I would not need a bigger power supply. What are your thoughts? Thank you

[vesseblah]

It's fine with that graphics card. Wont work with two cards though, and might have problems with the highest end cards if you upgrade to one later.

Also make sure the RAM is "low profile" type, not standard Vengeance. LP dont come with the stupid decoration heatsinks that cause problems with some CPU coolers.

[noteworthynerd]

I've nothing to add, vesseblah pretty much covered anything I would have said, but I do have to ask, why didn't you use your existing thread? http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...computer-build

[Deleted]

Seeing as Ivy-bridge is just alround the corner isnt it better to wait just a few weeks? As you are making your own I think that would be a wise decision, same with the GTX56ti... Kepler is just days away, granted they might release the highend cards first at a higher price but it's a generation shift in the happening I would wait if you have the time.

Also I might add, but this is straight from memory and I may have it wrong, but that cooler (if I think of the right one) is not as big as some others. And you may choose to don't use two fans for each side... Anyways it's kinda moot since low profile memories are nice either way you see it (:

[Deleted]

Oh damn. The RAM I currently have is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8...1736649&sr=1-1

Which doesn't look low profile and have ordered the cooler:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/COOLER-MASTE...3&sr=8-1-fkmr0

but I can cancel it before its too late.

---------- Post added 2012-03-14 at 02:52 PM ----------

I've nothing to add, vesseblah pretty much covered anything I would have said, but I do have to ask, why didn't you use your existing thread? http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...computer-build

Well that is a good point. I thought it might of been too old and I had changed a lot of things around. Must of not been thinking. Sorry

[noteworthynerd]

No, that RAM is not low-profile, but it should fit with that specific cooler because the RAM slots are fairly far away from the CPU socket on the Extreme3.

[Deleted]

Seeing as Ivy-bridge is just alround the corner isnt it better to wait just a few weeks? As you are making your own I think that would be a wise decision, same with the GTX56ti... Kepler is just days away, granted they might release the highend cards first at a higher price but it's a generation shift in the happening I would wait if you have the time.

Well I only have a set budget and the Ivy-bridge would be more expensive I would assume. Also I really don't want to wait as I need my PC fixed asap. The graphics card I've had for a while and I'm reusing it.